Truly Great Aroma, like fresh granny smith. It looks wonderful as well, pours nice. Full rounded and not weighed down by an over abundance of one or more ingredients. Light tasting followed by a nice lingering hop flavor that hides for a while on the edge of the tongue. Usually for me a 10% barley wine ale seems so heavy, but this finishes like a regular beer. A somewhat dry finish hides the heavy of alcohol content? Good Job making this. Tested was a Nice fresh 1 pint sized bottle with a large price tag of 4.95 total. Had to try a new one, glad to see another great product from this amazing brewery/brewer… now if possible, lower the price, please?

22oz bomber: This one pours a dark caramel-brown color. There was almost no head on it. The nose is pretty good. Caramel, dark fruits, perhaps some rum raisin notes. The taste is OK. caramel, raisin, some dark fruits. Minimal sweetness with a small touch of dryness in the finish. It’s good, but just seems to be missing something I can’t quite put my finger on.

"one of the weaker (in flavor and body) barleywines i’ve had...especially american BW. overall it’s still a barleywine, and it’s got a decent sweet flavor and aroma of caramel and a touch of hops, but it’s not all that great for a BW."

22 ounce bottle into snifter, no bottle dating. Pours hazy/cloudy very dark brown color with a small dense khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a thin lacing cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a light amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of raisin, plum, fig, cherry, caramel, molasses, brown sugar, toast, brown bread, light chocolate, herbal, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good complexity and solid balance of dark/bready malt, fruitiness, and earthy hop notes; with solid strength. A bit strong on fruitiness, but not bad. Taste of raisin, plum, fig, cherry, caramel, molasses, toast, brown sugar, brown bread, light chocolate, herbal, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Light amount of earthy hop bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of raisin, plum, fig, cherry, caramel, molasses, toast, brown sugar, brown bread, light chocolate, herbal, and yeast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Very nice complexity and balance of dark/bready malt, fruitiness, and earthy hop flavors; with a good malt/bitterness balance and zero cloying sweetness after the finish. Light carbonation and fairly full bodied; with a smooth and moderately creamy/slick mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is well hidden with only a small warming present after the finish. Overall this is a very good barelywine style. All around good complexity and balance of dark/bready malt, fruitiness, and earthy hop flavors; and very smooth to sip on for the big ABV. A nicely enjoyable offering.

Backlog rating. Bomber from Rodman’s, D.C. Strong and sharp beer, from the first of its boozy glowing amber pour. One of the first majorly hop-aggressive barleywines I had, and one that I still enjoy from time to time (though I notice it’s now described as an American Strong Ale on its label). But while the hops are certainly quite forward, this one isn’t like Double Bastard so much as a strongly malty base with a serious makeover in the finish. In other words, the strength is from boozy intensity all the way round.

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